Dufisthenics

So after a decent few sets of squats I decided to try something different with deadlifts.  Many of you may be familiar with the term “deficit deadlift” where you stand on something to make your body higher and the bar lower which makes you pull from a lower starting point.

Well I reversed that concept and did what I call “surplus deadlifts” where I used the safety bars on the squat rack to give myself a 14-16 inch elevated start position, allowing my body to hold more weight, hopefully.

With the height of the safety bars the barbell was right at my bent knees as a starting position which may have been less than ideal.  When I managed to do 365 three times I knew I had a shot at four plates on each side.  Now those of you that follow my blog might recall when I was at Stonepark I managed to get roughly 460 pounds off the ground with the farmer carry handles.  That is a different kind of lift though.  With a barbell in front of me the most I ever successfully held was 390 pounds in my back yard 2-3 years ago.

So with 405 on the bar I did a mixed grip, locking it in as tight as I could.  I also never have messed around with weight over 365 pounds without straps.   I imagined Lou screaming at me, “Let’s go! Let’s go! Don’t give up! You got this!” as I pulled against the bar which at first did not seem to move as instead the tendons in my arms and back stretched against the weight.  Once they were fully stretched the bar slowly lifted off the supports until I locked out in the upright position.  It felt like all the blood in my body instantly shot to my head.  Just to make things more real I reversed the mixed grip and did it one more time after a short rest.

Now of course short pulling 405 is a lot different than lifting it all the way off the ground but it forces your body to deal with and adjust to handling that much weight which is part of making progress.  It still is a first on a couple fronts. First time lifting/holding 405 with a barbell at all and doing it without straps to boot.  The awkward starting position left a little pain in my lower back but nothing I can’t shake off in a day or two.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Barbell squat – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 10, 225lbs x 2

Short pull barbell deadlift – 225lbs x 5, 315lbs x 5, 365lbs x 3, 405lbs x 1, 405lbs x 1

Seated leg extension – 100lbs x 10, 145lbs x 8

Seated leg curl – 100lbs x 10, 140lbs x 8

Standing one leg calf raise – 10 reps x 3 sets each leg